First-Ever Braille Summit to Solicit Ideas on Promoting and Supporting Braille Literacy
More than 50 braille readers, braille literacy professionals, librarians, and others with a stake in the future of braille will gather at Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Massachusetts, June 19–21, 2013, for a Braille Summit.
The National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), Library of Congress, has organized the event, the first of its kind, in concert with Perkins to solicit ideas on ways libraries can promote and support braille literacy.
"NLS hopes that bringing together experts from across America and around the world will help us pinpoint the issues affecting braille literacy and develop fresh solutions for addressing them," says Karen Keninger, director of NLS.
The conference, which will open with a keynote speech by Peter Osborne, chief braille officer of the Royal National Institute of Blind People in the United Kingdom, will be organized around five major tracks: Braille Readers, Library Selection and Collection Development, Braille Production, Braille Technology, and Promoting Braille Literacy and Awareness.
Participants will have the opportunity to listen to experts in each of those subject areas and then engage in facilitated discussions with their peers. Time will also be set aside for attendees to explore exhibits featuring new technological developments and best practices in braille. An agenda listing all events and speakers is available at the Braille Summit website.
"Recommendations generated at the summit will help shape braille programs and priorities for the future of the NLS library network," says Keninger. NLS plans to publicly release a summary of recommendations once the event is complete.
NLS administers the free program that loans materials to residents of the United States and U.S. citizens living abroad who are unable to read or use standard print materials because of visual or physical handicaps. These materials include braille and recorded books and magazines, music scores in braille and large print and specifically designed playback equipment. For more information about NLS at the Library of Congress, visit the NLS website.
Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world, with nearly 142 million items in various languages, disciplines, and formats. The Library serves the U.S. Congress and the nation both onsite in its reading rooms on Capitol Hill, and through its award-winning website.
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Perkins School for the Blind, Helen Keller National Center, and FableVision will Lead the iCanConnect Campaign
Many thousands of Americans who have combined loss of hearing and vision may soon connect with family, friends, and community thanks to the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program. Mandated by the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established this new program to provide support for the local distribution of a wide array of accessible communications technology.
The FCC is also funding a national outreach campaign to educate the public about this new program. The iCanConnect campaign will be conducted jointly by Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, MA, the Helen Keller National Center in New York City, NY, and FableVision of Boston, MA. iCanConnect will seek to ensure that everyone knows about the free communications technology and training that is now available to low-income individuals with combined hearing and vision loss. From screen enlargement software and video phones to off-the-shelf products that are accessible or adaptable, this technology can vastly improve quality of life for this population.
iCanConnect seeks to increase awareness about the availability of communications technology for this underserved population, so people who are deaf-blind and have limited income can remain safe and healthy, hold jobs, manage their households, and contribute to the economy and the community.
Information about the new equipment distribution program is available online at the iCanConnect website or by phone at 800-825-4595. Additional information is available through the online FCC Encyclopedia.
"With the right technology, people with disabilities can link to information and ideas, be productive, and move ahead," said Steven Rothstein, President of Perkins. "Perkins' most famous student, Helen Keller, exemplified the potential of a person who is deaf-blind. We are proud to have a role in this transformational program."
The CVAA, championed in Washington, D.C. by Congressman Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts and Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas, acknowledges that advances in technology can revolutionize lives. Nearly one million people in the United States have some combination of vision and hearing loss. People with combined loss of vision and hearing as defined by the Helen Keller National Center Act whose income does not exceed 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines are eligible to participate in the new program.
"The mission of the Helen Keller National Center is to enable each person who is deaf-blind to live and work in his or her community of choice," explains Executive Director Joe McNulty, adding, "This critical technology access program accelerates those efforts but only if people know about the resources. iCanConnect is poised to get the word out, coast to coast."
"FableVision's mission is to help ALL learners reach their full potential," said Paul Reynolds, CEO of FableVision Studios. "With this program we advance that mission, helping spread the word about equal access to tools that offer those with hearing and vision loss the transformational power of technology." Reynolds adds, "Now everyone is invited to the technology promise powering the human network."
